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to feel bad about

to feel bad about

108 3.4
To be sorry about an action you did or failed to do
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : sentirse mal por
  • He feels bad about missing his friend's birthday party.
  • make someone feel bad about

But now I agree that I shouldn't feel bad about it at all.

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Examples

Synonyms

to regret
vsto feel bad about
481 1.2

Feel sorry about a past action, a loss, or a missed chance

is stronger, focusing on personal guilt for doing or not doing something
to feel bad for
vsto feel bad about
108 2.8

Be sorry for someone who is unhappy or for something you did wrong

is self-directed guilt about something done or left undone rather than sympathy
to repent
vsto feel bad about
91 4.9

To feel very sorry and want to make things right

is a general guilty feeling without the required sincerity or amends
to rue
vsto feel bad about
14 7.5

To feel sorry about something you did or missed

is a more neutral personal sense of guilt about actions or inaction
to feel like a louse
vsto feel bad about
  • Offensive
9.1

To be guilty and ashamed after treating someone badly

is broader guilt about actions or omissions, not only intense shame

Antonyms

192 2.2

A pleasant feeling when you achieve something or your needs are met

45 3.4

To feel pleased about something you or others do

How Guilty

ashamed
504 1.0
to feel bad about
108 3.4

Surface Forms

feel bad about infinitive
feeling bad about present participle
feels bad about third person singular
felt bad about past participle

Morphology

feel + bad + about

The meaning 'to experience regret or guilt regarding something' is directly derivable from combining 'feel' (to experience) with 'bad' (a negative/remorseful emotion) and 'about' (concerning), so a learner who knows the constituents can compose the overall sense. This is a common adjective-complement pattern in English and appears similarly in many languages, making it transparently interpretable by a B1 learner.

Etymology

Feel bad about comes from a simple image: when you remember something wrong you can literally feel a heavy, unhappy feeling in your chest — you feel bad — that feeling is connected to a particular action. So, feel bad about means 'to feel regret or guilt' about something you did or forgot.